1
as in to spray
to cover by or as if by scattering something over or on sow the fields with maize in early spring, and the crop should be ready by late summer

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2
as in to plant
to put or set into the ground to grow first sow the seeds in potting soil

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3
as in to breed
to set permanently in the consciousness or mind-set a malicious neighbor who sowed within him nagging suspicions about his wife

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of sow Bass and other officials argue Trump is trying to sow violence with the raids and deployment of the National Guard. Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 10 June 2025 Nobody has done more than Secretary Kennedy to sow unwarranted doubt about the safety and effectiveness of vaccines, and this decision demonstrates a complete lack of caring about the health and safety of every American. Gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 June 2025 The questions appear to be part of the prosecution’s attempt to sow doubt about Russell’s credibility as a witness. Karissa Waddick, USA Today, 4 June 2025 Uncomfortable situations have hung over Garber for much of the year, as the Trump administration has targeted Harvard for special scrutiny – while also sowing doubt the school could ever satisfy its mounting demands. Andy Rose, CNN Money, 3 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for sow
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sow
Verb
  • Hammerhead worms can also be sprayed with a combination of citrus oil (like orange essence) and vinegar, the Texas Invasive Species Institute states.
    Greta Cross, USA Today, 14 June 2025
  • Any proposals that recommend routine insecticide spraying of your trees and shrubs should be questioned.
    Tim Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 14 June 2025
Verb
  • Keeping Them Indoors Too Long Many gardeners like to get a jump on summer by planting a dahlia in a pot indoors, then transplanting it into the garden.
    Miranda Crowell, Better Homes & Gardens, 15 June 2025
  • Try planting a row on either side of your cabbages to confuse pests.
    Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 15 June 2025
Verb
  • The residue from earlier high tide lines — wrack lines, as they are called — sits just outside some of the fencing around the nest, even pushing through it in spots, jeopardizing the habitat these birds need to breed.
    Jan Ellen Spiegel, Hartford Courant, 23 June 2025
  • Iranians are also religious and ethnic minorities in the wider world, and that has bred existential fears of foreign conquest.
    Robin Wright, New Yorker, 23 June 2025
Verb
  • Allow cookies to cool completely before sprinkling powdered sugar on the walnut cookies.
    Lillian Ali, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 June 2025
  • Head to nearby Portland to experience these peppers in a more traditional way, sprinkled over one of the USA’s 50 Top Pizzas at Ken’s Artisan.
    Elena Valeriote, Forbes.com, 16 June 2025
Verb
  • But, like all industrious publishers, Dunton had broader ambitions: to seed new publics for his writing.
    Merve Emre, New Yorker, 16 June 2025
  • The company said the drop was caused by a substantial increase in marketing expenditure deployed in seeding new international markets.
    Tianwei Zhang, Footwear News, 16 June 2025
Verb
  • Before concluding her cross-examination of one of the case’s most important witnesses, Geragos peppered Jane with questions about Combs continuing to pay her rent and her lingering ties to him.
    Molly Crane-Newman, New York Daily News, 12 June 2025
  • Its life span is only a few weeks, but in that time one female can produce nearly a hundred offspring, peppering sorghum plants with larvae that look like sawdust and suck nutrients from the leaves, stunting the plants.
    Peter Slevin, New Yorker, 9 June 2025
Verb
  • Some critics of Sunday hunting argue that Sundays are a day of recreation by many non-hunters who would be disturbed — or potentially put in harm’s way — if hunters were allowed to shoot on Sundays.
    Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 23 June 2025
  • Cooper DeJean was put in a sticky situation over the weekend.
    Justin Grasso, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Sow.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sow. Accessed 28 Jun. 2025.

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